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B. E. BROWN.

STAPLING MACHINE. APPLICATION min JULY m5.

1 ,1 96,077 Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

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B. E. BROWN.

STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. |915.

1,196,077. PatentedAug. 29,1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BYRON E. BROWN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO LATI-IAM MACHINERY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

.Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

Application led July 6, 1915. Serial No. 38,102.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, BYRON E. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stapling-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stapling machines such as are used for fastening together paper board and other similar materials in the construction of boxes, cartons and various articles made of materials of this character.

The invention consists substantially in the combination and arrangement hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a stapling head to which the present invention is applied. Fig. 9. is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. l showing one position of the operating parts. Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 but showing the operating parts in different positions. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view` on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on line 7-7 of Fig. 9J. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective of the work compressor slightly modified used in connection with the present invention.

In fastening together' thin sheets of material that are more or less yielding under pressure, it is found that the staples driven into such material are very apt to cut into the material and thus weaken the holding properties of the staples so driven. This is especially true of built up corrugated paper board, that is, board made up of aninner layer of corrugated paper or cardboard oncach side of which is pasted or otherwise sccured a flat strip of similar material. This built up corrugated board is extensively used in forming cartons and boxes for the transportation and storage of a large variety of commercial products and it is very desirable' to be able to fasten the seams of such boxes and cartons in such a way that the holding staples will not tear out. As such containers have been heretofore constructed, there has been a great tendency for the staples when driven, to cut through at least the outer plain strip of paper forming the surface of such board, thus paving the way for further tearing and breaking of the material surrounding the staple and weakening the joint. The joint formed by the lapping of the edges of two strips of this material has also proved to be -a source of aA great deal of vexation to transportation companies because of the fact that the comparatively thick overlapping edge of such a joint coutinually catches against other cartons and projections of all kinds to which containers of this character are subjected in transportation, and in this way the lapped staple joints are broken open. In forming'such a lapped joint by the present invention, the ,A

lapped portion of the board is subjected to compression at the time that the joint is formed, and in this way they inner corrugated portion is compressed and the two outer surface strips are brought nearer to one another until a comparatively compact strip along the edge of the board is produced. for yholding the staples and avoids the necessity of driving the staple throughthe outer surface layer while held in a comparatively unsupported condition. This, of course, greatly minimizes the tendency of the staple to cut through the outer strip or layer since this strip in applicants construction is supportedby a comparatively compact backing atthe time that the staple is driven. The overlapping edges of the boards being compressed are considerably thinner than the remaining portion and hence the joint formed by these overlapping edges is of a thickness no greater than the thickness of the remaining portion' of the board. In this way the shoulder previously referred to, which has a tendency to catch and tear open the box, is avoided, the wall of the carton being no thicker at the joint than it is at other places.

In the drawing, the numeral l designates the driving shaft of the ordinary form of stapling head which is mounted tov rotate in an arm or goose-neck a portion of which is shown at 2. Carried on the end of the shaft l and adapted to rotate therewith, are the usual driving members, including la cam 3, and a pitnian 4t. A head plate 5 surrounds the end of the shaft and carries the operating mechanism. A staple former 6 is recip- This gives a much stronger portionv rocated by the cam 3 and the staple driver i 7 is mounted within the former 6 and is adapted to be reciprocated therein by means of the pitman 4. The device as shown in the drawings, is designed to drive two staples simultaneously and each side of the former is therefore provided with two grooves 8 in which the legs of the staples lie after the staples have been formed. r1`he driver 7 is provided with projections or tongues 9 which fit into the grooves 8. An anvil 10 is mounted for horizontal reciprocation through an opening in the plate 5 and at the proper time is projected into the path of movement of the former 6 and receives the wire from which the staples are made, in the slot 11 in the end of the anvil. The end of the former 6 is bifurcated, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 and after the anvil has been projected forwardly into the path of movement of this former and has received the wire for the staples, the former moves downwardly, one bifurcation passing on each side of the anvil, and the ends of the wire held in the slot 11 are thus bent downwardly to form the legs of the staples, the legs lying in the grooves 11 after the staple is formed. The anvil is then retracted and the driver 7 moves downwardly and forces the staples into the work. In the form of stapling head shown in the drawing, the anvil 10 is operated by the reciprocating member 12. The particular form of staple forming and driving mechanism is not in itself a part of the present invention, but any wellknown and approved forming and driving construction may be used in the place of that shown in the dra-wing.

Secured to the front of the stapling head, as by means of screws 13, is a plate 14 and a work compressor' 15 is mounted in this plate for vertical reciprocation therein. At the lower end of the work compressor 15 is a laterally projecting` foot 16 having an opening 17 through the central portion thereof. The foot 16 may be provided with a rib on its upper surface, as shown in Figs. Q, 3 and 4, or this rib may be omitted as in Fig. 8. rlfhe body of the compressor 15 is cut away near the upper portion to form shoulders 1G and an L-shaped projection 17 is formed at the upper end of the compresser. The member 15 is adapted to slide vertically in an opening 19 in the block 14 and is held in place in this block by a plate 2O secured to the block by screws 21. Struck up from the plate 20, and projecting into the opening 19 in the block 14.. are two lugs 22, Figs. 5 and 6. A pair of coil springs 23 rest upon the upper surface of these lugs and support at their upper ends the projection 17 on the compressor- 15. In this way the compressor is resiliently held in its uppermost position. As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the staple former 6 has formed in the front portion thereof, a slideway 24 having a shoulder 26 at the upper end thereof. The projection 17 of the compresser 15 extends into the slideway 24 and is adapted to be contacted by the shoulder :26 at the proper period in the cycle of operations, and forced downwardly against the tension of the springs 23. 1t will be apparent that the former G will have a motion equal to the length of the slideway Q4 ins` dependently of the compressor 15, but when the former has moved a sufficient distance to bring the shoulder Q6 into contact with the projection 17 the compressor 15 will be carried downwardly with the former into the position shown in Fig. 4. 0n the return movement of the springs Q3, the compressor 15 will be carried upwardly into the position f:

shown in Fig. 2, after which the former will continue to move upwardly independently of the compressor, to a position to permit the wires to be fed forwardly into the slot in the anvil 10. Beneath the operating parts, is a work support 27 upon which the material to be stapled rests. The work support 27 carries a hardened plate upon which the ends of the staples are clenched or bent over after they have passed through the work.

From the construction as described, it is believed that the operation will be clear. The material to be stapled is fed to the machine so that the overlapping edges to be secured will rest upon the work support 27. If a box is being constructed, the stapling will be done with the box in a collapsed position and the portion of the box opposite that being stapled will pass beneath the support 27. At the beginning of the cycle of operation, the staple former and staple driver will both be in an upper position above the anvil 10. At this period, the wires from which the staples are formed are fed into the machine and cut olf at the proper lengthto form the sized staples necessary for the particular work being done. The anvil 1D is at this time in its forward position, and the wires enter through the opening 11. The former 6 now moves downwardly bending the ends of the wires into position to form a staple. When the former has moved a sufficient distance to bring its end into the opening 17 in the compressor 15, the shoulder 26 will strike the projection 17 and the former and compressor will then move together into contact with the work, compressing the board which is to be stapled in the manner previously described. After the staple has been formed, the anvil 10 is withdrawn and the driver 7 moves downwardly on top of the staple and forces it through the work, the ends of the staple being bent over by the hardened member Q8 in the work support. The presser foot 1G is of a sufficientsize to compress a considerable area of the material and it is preferable to have it extend a sufficient distance in the direction of movement of the work through the machine to compress all of the materia-l that moves beneath the stapling head, the part compressed in each stapling operation beginning Where the compression of the last operation left off. It Will be seen that it would be impractical to make the former 6 of sufficient size to compress enough of the material to accomplish a substantial, beneicial result. This is due to the fact that at each operation the former must be drawn up into the stapling head a sufhcient distance to permit the feeding of the Wires to the anvil. If a presser foot large enough to be of substantial service Was secured to the former 6, this member could not then be drawn upwardly to perform its other functions. By providing a separate slide l5, however, the presser foot 16 is permitted to travel in unison With the former during the time that it protrudes from the bottom of the stapling head, and yet it is left free to travel independently of the slide to perform its functions Within the head.

While the present invention is shown as attached to one embodiment of a stapling device, this is merely by Way of illustration and it should be distinctly understood that it may be applied to other forms of stapling mechanism and may be used in other connections than those mentioned.

vWhat I claim is:

l. In combination, reciprocating stapling mechanism, and a movable compressor foot' cooperating with said stapling mechanism to form a continuous presser surface substantially in a single plane for compressing the material to be stapled.

2. In a stapling machine, a staple former and a compressor foot arranged to be operated by said staple former and to move in unison with said former perpendicularly against the surface of the material to be stapled, and to coperate with said former to permanently reduce the thickness of the material stapled.

3. In a stapling machine, a staple former, a compressor foot arranged to surround the extremity of said former when said foot and former are in contact With the material being stapled, and means for connecting said compressor foot With said former for driving said foot.

In combination, a staple former, means for causing said former to bear upon the material to be stapled, a compressor foot arranged to surround the portion of said former which contacts with said material, during said Contact, and a staple driver coperating With said staple former and compressor foot to form a continuous presser surface for reducing the thickness of said material at and surrounding the portion stapled. l

5. In a stapling machine, a reciprocating staple former, a compressor foot, and means for connecting said compressor foot With said former in such a Way that said compressor foot is constrained to move in unison With said former during a part of the reciprocation thereof, the arrangement being such that said compressor foot and former are caused to bear simultaneously upon the material being stapled to reduce the thickness thereof.

6. In a stapling machine, means for forming a continuous presser surface comprising a staple former, a staple driver, and a compressor foot, and means for forcing said former, driver and compressor foot perpendicularlv against the surface of the Work, substantially simultaneously, to reduce the thickness of the seam formed by said stapling machine.

7. In a stapling machine, a stapling head, staple driving mechanism arranged to be drawn into and projected from said head, and a compressor foot arranged to coperate with said staple driving mechanism to form a continuous presser surface When said staple driving mechanism is projected from said head.

8. In a stapling machine, a staple former having a slideway therein, a compressor having a projection thereon arranged to travel in said slideway during a portion of the movement of said staple former, and a shoulder for causing said compressor to move in unison with said former and With the operating ends of said compressor and former in the same plane during another portion of the movement of said former.

9. In a device of the character described, a stapling head, stapling mechanism arranged to be alternately projected from and drawn into said head, and a compressor foot arranged to form a continuous presser surface with said stapling mechanism When projected from said head and to remain outside of said head when said stapling mechanism has been drawn therein.

l0. In a stapling machine, a stapling head, a staple former arranged to reciprocate in said head and to be periodically projected therefrom, a staple driver arranged to reciprocate in said staple former, and a compressor slide arranged to be operated by said staple former and having a presser foot surrounding` said former when projected from said head and arranged to move in unison with said former when so projected.

11. In a stapling machine, a staple former, a staple driver, a compressor plate, and means for bringing said former, driver and compressor plate into substantially the same plane With said plate immediately surrounding the operating portions of said former and driver When said former, driver and compressor plate are in contact With the Work to be operated upon.

12. In a device of the character described,

a stapling head, stapling mechanism carried 10 unison with said stapling mechanism during a part of the movement of said stapling mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speeication, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses7 on this 2d day of July, A. D. 19,115.

BYRQN E. BROWN. Vitnesses:

CHARLES H. SEEM, A. J. CRANE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents` Washington, D. C. 

